Entering 2022, long power outages, queues for basic items, mass protests... Three seemingly unrelated themes are constantly evolving in Sri Lanka, with each different tone related to the government's initiatives touching the nerves of the population. Faced with the soaring cost of living, as well as the harsh economic reality of no fuel, no electricity, and no medicine that has not improved for many days, some people, mainly young people, have taken to the streets to protest and demand that the government solve the problem; while the silent majority have to run for survival and "have no time to protest."
Three months after the long power outage that began in late February, Sri Lankans have become accustomed to three or five hours of blackouts a day, and now the streets are more likely to see people running for gasoline, diesel, kerosene, furnace oil, gas and other fuels. Near almost every gas station, there is an endless queue of people with tuk-tuks (tricycles), motorcycles, cars of all sizes, and people carrying various containers. Most of the queuers can buy fuel after waiting for five or six hours, and if they are unlucky, they have to wait a day or two. Despite rising fuel prices, for the populace, there is better than nothing.
"The cost of living has increased," is a phrase that Global magazine reporters often hear when chatting with locals. As a foreigner who has lived in Colombo for a long time, the reporter's understanding of the "increase in the cost of living" in addition to checking the official price index is mostly from his shopping habits and travel experience on weekdays. For example, a kind of bacon food that reporters often buy, the same specifications of packaging at the end of 2021 priced less than 1500 rupees (1 yuan was about 30 Sri Lankan rupees at the time), by March this year has risen to 1700 rupees (1 yuan is now about 53 Sri Lankan rupees), in April jumped to about 2100 rupees; Tuk Tuk is sri Lanka's most convenient travel tool, in the past in the city to spend 400 rupees is more, now three or four hundred rupees is the minimum consumption Check out the details of the takeaway order fee recorded by the reporter on Uber, the same meal is 1100 rupees in January and the minimum price is 1400 rupees in May.
The rise in prices has been accompanied by a shortage of goods. Sri Lanka is heavily dependent on imports, which need to be supported by ample foreign exchange reserves, and sri Lanka's three main sources of foreign exchange earnings – tourism, remittances and exports – have been sluggish in recent years, leading to a sharp decline in the country's foreign exchange, although official data show that its foreign exchange reserves as of April this year were around $1.8 billion, but the disposable foreign exchange is less than $25 million. In order to save foreign exchange, the government announced hundreds of non-essential import products, including them in the list of restricted import items. Fuel, medicines, sugar, legumes and cereals are essential for imports, but the lack of foreign exchange makes it difficult to import these items.
There is a convenient supermarket downstairs of the reporter's apartment, in recent months I have seen the dairy shelves empty, the current filling of fresh milk is basically out of stock, only some sharply increased price of milk powder, occasionally see fresh milk produced by local farms; toiletries counter, the original Lux and other international brands have been removed from the shelves, can buy is the same increase in local brands. It is understood that almost all the raw materials of dairy products in Sri Lanka are from New Zealand, no raw materials naturally can not manufacture dairy products; and Sri Lanka's toiletries have original imports, filling imports and local brands three, with the implementation of import restrictions, the original imports due to high prices and no one cares, and filling imports due to the shortage of raw materials out of stock, at present can ensure that only local products are left.
If it is only a rise in prices, there are actually ways to deal with it, such as choosing alternatives or reducing purchases while ensuring basic demand. According to local media reports, as economic pressures have increased, some Sri Lankan families have changed the original three meals to two meals, and the original visible fish per meal has been reduced to once a few days. However, basic commodities like fuel are almost unavoidable. A friend of the reporter lamented that he was fortunate to have sold the car last year.
But even if a family doesn't have any vehicles, there must be fuel for cooking. At the beginning of the year, when the first wave of fuel shortages in Sri Lanka began to appear, many families who relied on gas for cooking resolutely chose to switch to kerosene stoves or use electric cooking, when kerosene stoves and induction cookers on the market were suddenly hard to find and sold at sky-high prices. However, with the shortage of electricity and kerosene, the reporter saw in the Beta Market in Colombo a few days ago that the kerosene stove was no longer in demand. Some locals who can afford it start cooking with firewood, while those who live in city apartments have no choice but to rely on gas or kerosene for cooking.
For reporters, the real pressure of fuel shortages is still in several long-distance business trips. The main way to travel in Sri Lanka is by car, and in the past, when arranging a long-distance trip, the main concern was whether the road was safe, and now the primary consideration is whether the fuel can ensure the arrival of the destination, and more importantly, whether there is enough fuel to ensure the return. Local friends have used their personal experience more than once to warn reporters that due to the rising price of fuel, the fuel currently sold on the market may be mixed with other fuels, resulting in the same amount of fuel and not ensuring that the same mileage is walked. In order to prevent the vehicle from breaking down due to insufficient fuel halfway, this factor must be taken into account when traveling.
To tell the truth, whenever I hear local friends talk about their lives in the economic crisis, the reporter's heart will always be mixed.
01 A lawyer's response to a power outage
Tisza is a lawyer who lives in a small detached building on the outskirts of Colombo. When the reporter went to his house, he just saw him get out of the car carrying a large container. "I just lined up for a few hours to buy kerosene. The generator relies on kerosene, and I have to reserve more kerosene, otherwise I won't be able to use the generator in the event of a power outage. In order to reduce queuing costs, we try to develop motors when they are most needed. Tisza told reporters.
Regarding the response to power outages, Tissa already has a set of roads, "Our community now has 2 to 3 power outages a day, 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, and sometimes 1 hour in the evening. My daily work is roughly arranged according to the officially announced power outage schedule, and when electricity is available, I hurry to complete the Internet-related work on the desk. Two hours after a power outage in the afternoon, if there were no special circumstances, I would usually send my family to a nearby high-end mall, where there was air conditioning, they could cool off, and I didn't have to drive the generator at home. If I need to go out and meet friends, I try to schedule the meeting time within a few hours of a power outage. If a friend visits, try to arrange a time when the power is not out at home. ”
Figures like Tissa, who belong to Sri Lanka's senior elite, should not have lined up to buy kerosene or worried about power outages, but this is a reality. Currently, in Colombo, only high-end hotels, condominiums, office buildings, large shopping malls or some businesses will activate emergency standby generators in the event of a power outage, provided they have enough fuel for the generators.
02 Catch the train to school: She's seen Colombo at 4 a.m
In travel books about Sri Lanka, it is often mentioned that "taking the train is the most fashionable way to get through the country". That's a good thing to say, but for Ashaya, taking the train every day is a bit painful. Ashaya attends a prestigious girls' school in Colombo and lives in Kurunegala, nearly 100 kilometres from Colombo. In the past, Ashaya used to take buses to school every day, but due to fuel shortages, many privately run coaches and school buses were out of service, and the only guarantee for Ashaya to go to school was to take the train.
"I have a season train ticket and although the season ticket has gone from Rs 260 to Rs 510, it is still more cost-effective than a ticket for Rs 200 per train." Ashaya told reporters that in order to ensure that she can get on time for school, she gets up on time at 3:40 every morning and arrives at the train station before 4:30. "My mom worked harder, she got up at two o'clock to prepare breakfast and lunch, I ate breakfast at 4 o'clock and rushed to the train station 7 km away. Because I wake up too early, I often fall asleep on the train. But that's life, and we have no choice. ”
At Ashaya's school, the reporter met the lunch prepared for her by her mother that day, and the lotus leaf bag contained yellow rice, chicken, coconut, and potatoes, which looked very nutritious. It is understood that Sri Lankan schools have always had free lunches provided by the government, but due to the soaring prices of basic food, the government has cut the corresponding budget, and many schools have stopped providing meals, and schools that are still providing meals have also had to drastically reduce the amount and protein content of food.
03 Tuk Tuk Driver: Work for a day, queue up for a day
May 15 is the most important Buddhist festival in Sri Lanka, Vesak Day. At night, the streets flutter with lanterns of various patterns in white, and the reporter rents a tuk to follow the crowd to some neighborhoods to see different types of pandols (a decorative lamp that shows the pattern of the Story of the Buddha) that are characteristic of the Sri Lankan Vesak Festival celebrations. After watching the walk out of the block, the reporter noticed a large number of tuk-tuk cars parked on the side of the road.
"These tuk-tuks must be doing well today because there are a lot of people coming to see pandols." The reporter smiled and said to Ram, the driver of the tuk-tuk. "No, they're not like me, they're here waiting in line to refuel." Ram's words surprised the reporter because while we were talking, the tuk-tuk was already 1 kilometer long. The reporter asked Ram to drive to the gas station where the tuk-tuks were waiting to refuel. Following the direction of the queue, Ram turned left and right and drove for a full 3 minutes before finally finding the gas station. To be honest, this is the longest queue journalist has seen in Sri Lanka. On the same day, the reporter sent a video of the tuk-tuk queue taken with his hand to a local friend, and he did not expect that his reaction was actually very calm, "This length is not unusual at all, our team here is longer than yours." ”
The next day, the reporter went to several gas stations in Colombo to observe, and sure enough, the tuk-tuks, motorcycles, and various types of cars were divided into categories, and they were lined up in rows, and each line could not be seen at a glance.
A girl who has been in line for more than 4 hours said that she has been in line several times and must not quit this time, and sometimes she and her boyfriend are dating in line.
Another TUK driver, Chamir, told reporters that the authorities had set a limit of up to 3,000 rupees for TUK refueling, which could only add about 7 litres of fuel, and according to this amount, he spent one day at a time outside to earn money, and then had to come to the queue the next day. To ensure fuel is available, it's best to come and queue up around 4 a.m. so that you can be in front when the gas station opens at 6 a.m. "Spending so much time lining up to buy a little fuel every time, with limited time each day, we don't make enough money to bring a meal to the table." Chamill said.
04 "We cannot afford to lose hope"
Although locals are often seen complaining about the current economic situation on Sri Lankan social media, every time you approach the locals who are running for their lives, they are infected by their optimism.
In the army of queues that stretch for several kilometers, the reporter noticed that the hours of queues made neighboring car owners usually quickly become small teams with a common goal (to get fuel), they looked after each other's vehicles and encouraged each other, several people took shifts, members of the team could go out to eat or go to the bathroom, and sometimes everyone shared food and drinks.
A white-collar Miss Pereira, who had been queuing for 28 hours, tearfully shared her experience of queuing with the local media. When night fell, she found that the gas station had sold out the oil for the day, and the rest of the people could only hope that the tanker truck would come to deliver the oil the next morning. "If I leave, it means that the daytime team will be in white, but staying in the line means staying in the car overnight, and I am a little scared." At this time, the team members who had been queuing with her around her came to comfort her, "Little sister, don't worry, you stay and don't leave, we will help you, tomorrow we will definitely get gasoline." Pereira said that because she was not sure whether such a queue would have any results, she was on the verge of collapse many times in the past 28 hours, until there were only 8 cars left from the gas station, "I finally saw a glimmer of hope, or the queue is good, if you sit at home you will never see hope." 」 ”
Like Pereira, Larif Mohammed, who does business in beta markets, is hopeful about the future. Beta Market is Sri Lanka's most important and busy distribution centre for goods. The Mohammed family has been in the wholesale food business here for 30 years.
Mohammed told reporters, "After the epidemic, business has been affected, in recent months prices have risen sharply, our goods have to increase in price, but the people's income has not increased, so although my old customers will still come to the store to buy various goods, but the number has decreased a lot." ”
When communicating with reporters, Mohammed always smiled, "Now everyone's life is not easy, but I do not complain about the current situation at all, if you ask me how business is, I will say that today is not ideal, but tomorrow will be better." 」 "It is useless to complain and to grieve, but we cannot lose hope for tomorrow, only hope is likely to be a winner." ”
Another friend of the reporter, Ranmandala, who is using the current economic crisis to teach his children a lesson, hopes to let the children understand that life is not always smooth, and that "only by experiencing the current pain will you cherish a better tomorrow."
Sri Lanka's territory is known as "a tear in the Indian Ocean" because it resembles a crystal teardrop. These days, journalists have witnessed first-hand how Sri Lankans survive in economic hardship, both saddened by their ordeal and touched by the optimism, open-mindedness and smile they have shown under such difficult conditions. If there is a kingdom of smiles in the world, it must be Sri Lanka. (The characters mentioned in the text use pseudonyms except Muhammad and Ramandala)
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Wu Text Editor: Song Yanlin Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Zhu Xuan
Source: Author: Globe Magazine
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